Langhorne Slim

and dampen our spirit. But it's not just about thinking. Our actions matter. It takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort to make a life worth living. This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving in the right direction, how they feed their good wolf Yea, thanks for joining us. Our guest this episode is Langhorne Slim, a celebrated singer songwriter described by The New Yorker as having lead Belly's

gift for storytelling and Dylan's ability to captivate crowds. We caught up with Langhorne in between gigs to talk music, sobriety, and life. You can learn more about Langhorne Slim and this podcast at one you Feed dot net slash Langhorn, Hi, Langhorn, Welcome to the show. We're glad you could be here, glad to be here. Hello, Hello, Um. I first saw you, I think in Nashville one evening. I was traveling on business and on a on a lark, I went out

to a club to see you play. It's been it's probably been five years at least, and and I was, I was totally blown away. And I've seen you a couple of times in Columbus since. So uh, great live show. And I've I've always enjoyed, enjoyed your music. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Our podcast is called The One You Feed, and it's based on the old parable where there's a grandfather who's talking with his grandson and he says, in life, there are two wolves inside of

us who are always at war with each other. One is a good wolf represents kindness and love and joy, and the other is a bad wolf and represents greed and fear or hate or pick pick your poison. And the grandson stops and he thinks and he says, well, grandfather, which one wins? And the grandfather says the one you feed. So yeah, the way I like to start the interview off is just to ask you kind of what does that parable mean to you in both or either your

life or your work. Yeah. In my case, there were two old men, and they were old Jewish men that lived in Philadelphia that told me that, and in their own way, those were my grandfathers. Um. But I love that. That's that's what you sent me, um when when you when you got in touch with the message. And I read that and thought, how how cool it was. Off. Guys like me are fortunate to have people you want

to talk to them about their music or what they do. Um, it's not it's usually driven with kind of less interesting, um soulful topics and dynamics. So so I really do like that and appreciate the the chat. What does it mean for me? Probably what it means for us all.

I mean absolutely there's two. I guess there's the the dark demon of like you said, of fear and greed and and all that, and then you know the the light and the the true soul and all that, and so it's just kind of figuring out as as we go through life, what at least for me, what feeds my soul, what feeds the When I say light, I don't mean as far as weight, because I do like

heavy things, heavy heavy and soulful things. But you know what feeds the the love and the light, and what what kind of detracts from from the shittier the shittier things. For me, it's music, it's friends, it's creating, it's traveling, it's keeping very very very busy or else I get. Um. I think I'm always a strange one, but I get strange in in not fun ways. So it's a daily it's a daily weird ass adventure. Um that sometimes feels and sometimes it's like you're walking you can feel your

footsteps and they feel heavy. And then other days you just walk in and singing a little tune in your head and and the stunder shining everything kind of feels it feels cool. Um. And then there's a lot of

shoot in between. So it's just kind of the venture in the these paths that we choose in all of that, Yeah, exactly, And I like how you talked about the things that that feed you feed you, and music is definitely one for both Chris and I, which is why we try and get musicians on here as often as we can, because it's a it's a big part of of what feeds our good wolf. Um. You brought up the you brought up your grandfather's and that was actually a question

I was going to go to at some point. So you've got a song on your most recent record called Song for Sid, which I think is about one of your grandfathers. Do you want to you want to talk a little bit about that song. I love that all man a praise. Here's where he belongs, hanging where the prey wants go, where let go. I can tell you a bit about that song. Uh, I just can tell you a bit about my grandfather's. They were huge, huge

figures in my brother and I was life. Um. But yeah, my grandfather's, my grandparents in general, had a huge part in raising my brother and I and uh kind of forming us into the into the men that we are. Um. Both of them passed in the last five years. Um. Both of them I had spent significant time with at the end of their their lives, their physical lives here and and was very I consider those to be some

of the greatest gifts that I've been given. Was to have them both um in my life, and to have been fortunate enough through what I do to to be able to be close to them at at their end, and to have heard out of their mouths that they were ready to move on, that they enjoyed their lives, that they loved their families. Uh, and and parted some wisdom to me and said, you please, don't don't spend a whole lot of time being too sad about this, because uh, it is time to get the f out

of here. And and it's been real and I love you very much and uh and all that so for me in my thirty three years, that those were two, you know, to the most important guys to me and and incredibly significat. Yeah, yeah, that's a. That's the song

is a it's a touching song. And there's there's one other song where you, um, you reference your grandfather and you say, and it's a line that I really like and I think about a lot, which is that, um my grandfather once told me that all pain hurts the same.

And the idea is basically, even though other people may have less than us, or we can think about this person has no access to clean water, or this person was, you know, abused by their parents, but realizing that hurt is hurt, um, and we have to find ways to deal with that in ourselves. I really like that part of that song. Well, thank you, that's exactly that was exactly the conversation. And that's what that's what he told

me about. It retives relative to you and relative to me and relative to what I was doing with it. So what are the other things that I noticed recently? Uh? That has that has come up in your life? Is you've recently, um, become sober. Can you share a little bit about I guess what brought you to that point and how that experience has been for you so far. Yeah, it's it's a new experience. Um. It was a long

time coming. But I've been for about five months. And when friends of people ask me what why and what brought me to it? I think what brings a lot of those of us that I s over it to it, which is a lot of whatever the vice that we liked, um, And for me it was I drank. I drank as much as I could. I tried to drink at all.

I left some for those that are still drinking um and uh, and really through since I guess I'm about fifteen, kind of tried everything, um, thirty three now, and it became it became more of a weight, more of a burden, and something that was just more in my way. Then then I want something. And somebody told me a long time ago. And I didn't take this as a religious vibe really when she said it, but she I was talking to her about it. Um, I'm a man full of love and full of passion and that that well

within myself as deep. And I was talking to her about kind of where I wanted to go in relationships and in music and a career, and she said, well, you can't serve two guys, she said. And again I didn't take that as a religious thing. I took it as if I want to love this human being in my life, you know, hypothetical human beings a single man right now, but um, you know, and and put energy

and love into this human being. How can you do that if you're spending Let everybody spend so much time and energy drinking or doing drugs, but some of us do, and some of us did, so how can you put put all of yourself or the best of yourself into that in the same of music and art UM and I got to a point even though I knew when I was fifteen and I started drinking, I said to my high school sweetheart, I just saw yesterday it was a birthday, I said, Eventually I just started drinking, and

I said, eventually, I will have to stop this to get to where I need to go UM. And it was on my thirty first birthdays and was a long time coming, but I said to myself, today is Today is the day. And I haven't looked back since and should have been wild. I think when you are, when you are invested in UM, being high and drunk, it's all that and medicated for for a large part of your life. When you when you transfer into silber state.

I've heard a lot of silver people say this and I kind of nothing of it, or maybe even rolled my eyes at it. But it's its own and oxicating feeling in and of itself, and it's its own trip in and of itself. And I I'm doing that dance right now and it's uh, it's been really cool. Congratulations on on on five months. I've I've walked that road myself,

and you're right in the beginning. There's something very h I just remember sort of being blown away again and again with these insights like whoa, whoa, I you know, and and uh and and I agree that it is a certain point. I think most people who end up giving it up it is because they finally realize that that's the that is the god they're serving, you know, they're serving the god of their alcoholism or drug addiction,

and that that is the most important thing. And that's I don't think anybody intends for it to be that way, but that's the way it ends up. And you want to talk about feeding the bad wolf. I mean, that's the big bad wolf, right, you know. And again it's not When I talked about this, which I'm happy to and I'm open about it, I don't mean it for any I don't know what everybody else's path is and

and and people's experience with it. So I talked very much on a personal level, but I know that, I mean, why why I love music and why I do what I do in such a passionate way is to is to get to my to my center, to my truth and to and to be real and raw. And for me that became really clear that I wasn't being real and raw by kind of um medicating my fears and my my discomfort and my anxieties, and to to have

a breakthrough in my relationships in this life. Uh. In one of those relationships being the music is obviously very important to me. I felt like in order to have a true breakthrough with that, and then a true breakthrough romantically the next time that comes into my life, um, break through the ceiling that I've breached a certain level, but daddy, nothing to break through it. This was something that I needed to, um to have in my life

and to see what it was all about. Um. You know, look looking looking through these these weird sober brown eyes as opposed to these weird uh fucked up brown eyes. So yeah, the uh the first time that that you uh that people in general, myself, I guess I should say, experience something sober, whether it be getting up on a stage and playing music for the first time sober, or dancing somewhere the first time sober, or you know, intimate relationships.

It's like whoa I have. There has been sort of a nice protective barrier around me all this time, and now I've I've sort of taken that off and and The thing about your show I mentioned earlier when I saw you in Nashville was I was, I was sober at that at that point I went there and UH in your music did have that sort of transformative effect of sort of free you know, giving that that that freeing from the day to day UH cares and moments

that alcohol sometimes gives, UM, but it's wonderful when you get it other ways. And so I was, I was, really, I really enjoyed that. I really appreciate that. Thank you. So how is it five months? Are you finding it to be a challenge? Are you are you wrestling with uh, with with staying sober or right now? Is it? Is it pretty pretty easy for you? The benefits and the beauty that has been the last five months far outweighs the difficulty of it. I find um like to be

beautiful and wonderful, but also difficult and a challenge. Uh. I think that that's going to be the case whether I'm drinking or doing drugs or sober. Um. I'm not struggling with the I'm very stubborn and set in my ways, and as weak as I can be, I can be that strong. So it's like if I kind of if I if I say to myself, this is what I'm doing. And then I started talking to uh, people that I that I don't know on recording devices like you, and say,

because it means I'm really ready. I'm ready for it. Man. Then I'm embracing it. And just like I was when I was you know, when I was drinking, I drank, I drank a lot and uh, and now I don't and I'm and I'm into that. So I'm definitely an animal of extremes um and I don't know if that's going to change much. But but no, I mean, you know, I think that the worst thing that has happened was I went to a party that they that they have

in Nashville, really fun party. It was a bunch of my friends and people dance and drink and have have a great time. And it was and this was some months ago, and I went in and I found that it was it was, in fact, a bit more difficult for me to dance and like get into it. And I laughed and I was like, man, that really sucks. And I thought to mess up, Well, if that is

the that's the worst thing. And I had a recording session the next day and this morning, I look at that's the worst thing that's going to happen that I'm gonna feel a little bit more uncomfortable in this kind of you know, crowded bad dance party situation. So I'll be able to get up tomorrow morning and sing my ass off at this thing. Then it's then it's a prefair trade off. Um, and it gets easier to dance.

You know. It's just it's like it ain't it ain't these things booze or drugs or whatever that that a lot and dance looks. Use that as a as a metaphor. I don't just mean, you know, shaking your ass on the dance floor. Um, if you're if you're able to do it with it, you have it. It's within you. So I don't know, man, It's it's a complicated subject because you know, taking certain things throughout my life did inspire me creatively at times, did did further the process.

And since I've been sober, that has um said my creativity. So it's I don't regret things that I've done necessarily. Well, I do have some regrets to cancer that's on the pynolysis, But I think it's just the past, um, and there was there was good things that happened in those years and shitty things. Um. And within the five months, it's definitely it's where I need to be and it feels right and that dance I'm in rhythm with with my own steps with that, So that's that's cool by me, um.

And I'll keep going. I'll keep going in that direction, um. You know. And see, like I said, I told myself when I was a kid that that eventually this day would come and that would further than me with with my with my things, that I'm truly in love within life, which is this music and performing. And you know, I still got the dream. The dream is still a lot that I will find a wonderful uh you know, relationship

and still with that. So I'll put I'll put this new self up against those things and see see how it works. And that that that takes time, that doesn't happen overnight necessarily up and it's you know, I think what you said about I think all of us the that the alcohol or the past. I mean, there was magic in it for a long time and that's why

we why we did it. It's just at a certain point that magic runs out and and theed and you know, I think I always say that nobody's gonna nobody's gonna get into recovery until the pain of it is worse than the pleasure of it. And it takes a water get there. And if we're talking about the two wolves, you know, feeing the two wolves, You're right, nobody starts to do these things in a such an intense and addictive way. It feels like you're like you're feeding the light.

And it can if you're a poet or or a painter, or a musician or whatever you are, or just trying to be comfortable socially, it feeds that fun like you know, like I could talk a little bit easier, I feel like I look better or whatever. It is, like it makes you feel better. And like you said, eventually you realize that it it um you'd be better off without it. And it's likes to feed the dark, the dark side. So that was true for me, man, That's that's what

got me to to one and out of it. Yeah, I agree with you your your insight that all that stuff is sort of inside us anyway, and it's a matter of how do we get it out? And and I think alcohol and drugs can sometimes be a shortcut to getting that stuff out, but it's you hit a point where it doesn't doesn't work anymore, and then it's just a it's another level of discovery of how do I, how do I excavate these things that are inside of me that I want to get out into the world

and I don't. If you don't have that shortcut, that's right. And if you get into that and embrace that, and I'm just you know, it's beginning my journey with that. That's a beautiful thing because that's a longer journey for your own personal truths and your own you know that it's a it's a deep, deep well of that that we all have within us, and the shortcuts could get there. You're right to those songs or those poems or this or that, But yeah, I'm more into the long game

in the short game at the moment. So yeah, well, congratulations, good good luck to you with that. It's uh, you're certainly you're in a you're in a profession that is that is certainly challenging in that regard to be to be kind of around it all the time. But but early in my recovery. I played in bands and was around it a lot, and it's certainly, you know, there's plenty of examples of people that do do it, so there are I enjoy a good challenge, and I've never

been too afraid of not fitting sitting in. What I've learned actually is at thirty, maybe more so when we were really young. But there's I think there's just as many of us in this in the field that I am and that are that are not doing it as there are that are doing it. Um, it just seems to be what what happens. Eventually a lot of us decided that enough enough, you know. Yeah, it's that that pace will will wreck wreck you after a time, that's for sure. So UM, I want to ask you a

couple other questions. Is about about a few different songs um of years off a couple of different records that I've really enjoyed. I think maybe one of my favorite songs of years is uh is Diamonds and Gold. Do you anything you want to you want to share about that song. You can have all the diamonds, you can have all the goal, but someday you're still going to get old. You've got to learn to get happy along

the way. It's my mother's favorite song of mine. It's one of the songs that that kind of comes to you that I didn't have to work too hard at, which I really love when that happens. All songwriters appreciate when that happens. It's not as often as I'd like it to to happen. And it was really just self therapy, advice to myself, a reminder you know that that it's all right, it's all liked to smile. Yep, you gotta get a little happy, happy along the way. Speaking of

your mom, did you did you recently? Uh do a trip with her? And where you guys did a duet? We did. She got on stage and sang that tune with me um in Philly, we had a Pennsylvania Lang.

Warren is a town in Pennsylvania. I'm from the Turn outside of Philly, so it was like a big kind of homecoming show first there and she got up and saying, and then I took her to one of my best friends in the world is from Galmida, and so I've been able to go there a few times, quite a few times, and I took her for her sixtieths there and had a little solo show and she joined me on stage for that. Do you get some of your

musical talent from your parents? My mom is a great singer, could have been a professional singer, but didn't didn't take it there. Um my dad, I'm not sure if he's got a musical account, but he's uh a music lover. So I had and my grandparents were huge, huge, huge music lovers. My grandpop Jack was a jazz drummer. Um, and so I grew up with with a lot of a lot of music around and a lot of passion

and sensitivity in my family from music. Got cousins that are my cousin David actually taught me how to play guitar, taught me from Nirvana tunes and yeah, it's it's in the family. I think I heard you say that Polly was the first song you learned to play Polly Manatala,

not to play guitar. My mom tried to get well, I like beanked to get this guitar fixed up, and she agreed to fix the guitar up, and then I got um some lessons for my first lessons, I didn't learn anything from because the guy was trying to show me like teach me scales, which I still don't out to do scales, and teach me like aarrowsmith out and I wasn't into aarro smith, so I couldn't learn. And then, um,

I really looked up to my cousin. He was in this great punk band in New Jersey and I would go and listen to his band play and was just so blown away by it. And the feeling was like my first feelings of real life, this is what I'm gonna do, and just feeling wild and free and yeah, because remember that feeling, It's incredible and yeah, so he thought it took not learning from like in a you know, a real legiment of like these are your scales, is your homework and here's your arrow from the song to

just like in his basement teaching me Polly. That that blew the doors wide open for me. What's next for you musically? You mentioned you were in doing a recording session recently. What what what's coming up? Well, you know, this has been like time off quote unquote this winter, but I'm not good at time off, so I've been I've been right. Yeah, you know, I've been writing for the next record, which hopefully we'll record in the fall,

but we'll see how that all pans out. And in the meantime, I've just been working on UM but working on a song called Animal actually that it will come out. We're gonna have a limited Vinyl Eminence release to Records to a Day that comes out in April, and working on some demos and just writing for what will be the next record, and then we're doing I've got a tour coming up UM next month. We're gonna get to

do Conan O'Brien again on the eighteenth of February. So keeping keeping busy in the off time, gotta keep moving. How was it playing on Conan the first time? It was great? Um, that old thing was crazy because he Um, you spent a lot of time to Yeah, like a publicist and manager and you try to get on these

shows and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I gotta call or like a text from this painter friend, mean, Natalie Irish, who I only kind of sort of no, she's a friend now, but at the time I only kind of sort of knew, and she really loved the band, my sons and stuff, and she said, I just got on Conan O'Brien I have this feeling, the spiritual feeling or something that he will love your music. So if you want to send me a CD, and when I do the show, I'll try to get it to him.

So I thought that was a lovely thing and very kind and sweet. Um, but I didn't think anything really of it, that it would pan out to anything. So I sent the CD lo and behold, she went on and gave it, gave a Vater album of one of his producers, who then gave it to him. He listened to it and really connected and love the album, so he wound up getting in touch with us like personally.

He wrote me a note telling me how much you liked the record and that he was hoping that we could come on the show, and um, it's just been I've been a fan of his and watched his shows since I'm a kid, so it was just pretty incredible. So we got to go and do a show the first time, and then played the Troubadour in l A and he came and joined the band and played a few songs with us, and now we'll go back and do it again and a little under a month. So it's been cool. Cool, It's can be what song do

you think you'll play? Oh? Uh, well, I know, I know a song will play. Will play a song called Past Lives. Okay, yeah, that's off the latest record, So yeah, we're excited about that for sure. Well, I think we're coming to the end of our time here. Is there anything that you want to talk about related to the theme or or anything else that we haven't covered. I think that music is, at least for me and most people I know, is uh is great. Is perhaps the

greatest medicine to music. Nonalcoholic beverage to music, or if you drink of a highly alcoholic beverage. Well, thank you very much for taking the time to join us. I know you have been kind of all over the place, so I'm glad we were able to squeeze it a little bit of time and and talk me too. I appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing you somewhere out there. All right, Take care, Thanks, thank you, Take

care bye. M H. You can learn more about Langhorne, Slim and this podcast at one you feed dot net slash Langhorn